Failure and the American Dream

I never thought I would agree with Bill O'Reilly on any issue . . .political, cultural, or economic. I am a dedicated progressive. But his article in yesterday's Parade magazine was dead on. The subject was the lessons that today's young people can learn from Obama's life story. http://www.parade.com/news/2009/08/09-what-obama-can-teach-americas-kids.html. The lessons are forgiveness, respect, persistence, hard work, and anything is possible. Yes, Obama shows us that anything is possible; the American dream is alive and well. But he didn't realize his dream by being afraid of failure. His parents did not protect him from trying and falling short and getting up and trying again. And this is a lesson learned as a child, not as an adult. We deprive our children of the American dream and stunt their growth as intelligent, innovative thinkers when we protect them from risk and they are never allowed to lose. It's about time we realized that failure is part of life and begin, once again, to teach our children that there is no shame in losing and that failure is an essential step toward the American dream.